BTS’s J-Hope became the first South Korean artist to headline the main stage at Lollapalooza, which is one of the most iconic music festivals in the U.S., on par with ‘Coachella‘ and ‘South by South West.’
Although J-Hope is part of the most popular K-pop act in history, this would be the first time he stood on stage alone, performing his solo tracks without his members. On top of that, he is the headlining artist for one of the biggest music festivals in the U.S. and has to perform alone for a full hour as the main performance.
With this in mind, it is only natural to be nervous before the event, even for a professional artist like J-Hope. He shared that he wasn’t even able to eat and sleep because he was so nervous before his big performance in Chicago. J-Hope shared with fans that he practiced 6 hours every day so that he wouldn’t bring shame to the name of BTS.
J-Hope shared that the immense pressure to fill the stage by himself was so great that he had lost all his appetite and could not even sleep because he missed his members so much. That is when fellow member Jimin decided to fly over to Chicago to support J-Hope through this whole endeavor.
In fact, Jimin suddenly decided to board a plane to Chicago a few days after J-Hope had left. Many thought Jimin had a separate schedule to attend to, but it turned out that Jimin had flown over to purely support J-Hope and be there for him.
During a live broadcast, Jimin shared that he felt that J-Hope would be lonely during this solo promotion since the members had always been together all this time. Therefore, he decided to go and support J-Hope.
🐥외롭겠더라구요
🐥하도 우리가 오랫동안 단체로만 했잖아요.
🐥형이 이번에 처음으로 이런거를 시도를 해본건데 pic.twitter.com/71YlFTs2Jb— 🌬☁️•ᴗ•ᵖʳᵒᵒᶠ⭐🌙 (@VLifeToDo) August 1, 2022
🐿 난 진짜 거의 과정 속에서.. 너 와서 느꼈다시피..
🐿 정말 암흑의 세계였는데 너가 내 불빛이 되어줬더라
🐥 •᷄ʚ •᷅
🐿 아휴 제이홉~ 하는데 불빛이ㅋㅋㅋ 찌미나ㅜ
🐥 정말 아무렇지않게 이런소릴 할수있구낰ㅋ
🐥 넌나의불빛잌ㅋㅋㅋ
🐿 아 진짜 불빛이었어 아잇 난 암흑세계였잖아 존ㄴ.. pic.twitter.com/fS3tnqUPoB— 홍시 (@VeritasJK) August 1, 2022
J-Hope felt immense gratitude towards Jimin and expressed that Jimin was a ray of sunlight in his dark times trying to face the pressure of performing alone.
According to J-Hope, “I didn’t have any appetite when I arrived in the U.S. and I barely ate. When Jimin came, that’s when I was able to eat. While preparing for the performance, it felt like a world of darkness but Jimin was the light. Jimin helped me so much.”
🐿 제가 사실 여기 와서 식욕도 없었고 뭔가 많이 안 먹고 이랬는데 처음으로 지민이 와가지고 같이 점심을 먹는데, 이 호텔방에서, 밥이 엄청 들어가는 거예요 그니까 그만큼 이 멤버와 친구가 주는 안정감과 이런 게 너무나도 큰 거죠
ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅜ pic.twitter.com/resaYApiCU
— 브리이에² (@briller613_bts) August 1, 2022
호비형 공연 너무 좋아서 욕도 많이 했대 🤣🤣🤣
🐣욕도 너무 많이 해가지구 ❁´▽`❁
🐣목이 다 쉬었어 ❁´▽`❁
🐣아 제이호옵 너무 멋있다아 ❁´▽`❁
🐣아 진짜 끝나써 ❁´▽`❁
🐣멤버들 다 와서 봤어야 했는데에 ! ! ! pic.twitter.com/Itn5i5dLHi— 렛또 (@JIMINI95s) August 1, 2022
Netizens were once again impressed with the strong friendship the members shared and applauded Jimin for his kindness and thoughtfulness. Many were touched and moved by Jimin flying all the way over to Chicago just to be by J-Hope’s side.
Netizens commented, “I’m so touched,” “They’re both like sunshine,” “I really love the friendship they have,” “I feel like crying,” “They’re just so lovely,” “How can you not love them. Jimin knows J-Hope so well since they were roommates so he must have known the pressure J-Hope felt,” “He’s such a nice person,” “I can imagine how much pressure J-Hope must have felt, and Jimin must have known that too. So kind,” “This is so heartwarming,” “Jimin is the best,” and “I really love them both.”
